Ghoul on Netflix review: An average horror with a haunting twist

GHOUL is the brand new Indian horror series on Netflix starring Sacred Games star Radhika Apte. The horror film turned scary mini-series follows the plot of a terrorist with supernatural powers imprisoned in a detention centre. But Ghoul is scary for different reasons.

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Lacking stereotypical jump scares and minimum gruesome blood-filled scenes, Ghoul succeeds in being scary but for different reasons than you would expect from an intended horror film.

What makes Ghoul stand out from typical horror movies and stand near the likes ofGetOut and A Quiet Place is by setting itself in a vaguely dystopian future that bears resemblance to issues faced throughout the world today.

Ghoul also addresses the anxiety amongst us all that history can repeat itself.

Ghoul tackles real-world concerns such as hyper-nationalism and sectarianism whether it was deliberately intended too or not. There are tough to watch scenes of Muslim’s religious artefacts, Holy books and belongings being burned and echoes of Stalin’s purges as intellectuals are arrested and fathersare tornaway from their families for “anti-government” views.

However, the plot is then coupled with the storyline of a Ghoul who has taken over in the body form of terrorist Ali Saeed (played by Mahesh Balraj) who is terrifying to watch.

The star of Ghoul stars a strong female lead which is definitely one of its highlights.

The captivating Radhika Apte has been fronting Netflix’s Indian Original series, starring in Sacred Games and anthology film Lust Stories.

Apte plays Nida Rahim, a member of the advanced interrogation squad who is called to a remote military detention centre to interrogate a notorious terrorist, Ali Saeed Al Yacoub.

The first episode titled “Out of the Smokeless Fire” starts off with scary scenes of a malnourished man in a terrorist safe house covered in blood with a symbol and word Ghoul carved into him.

However, episode one then diverts from the gruesome scenes into the backstory which is hugely interesting and is probably best set as a series in itself.

Viewers find out the story of Nida and her father, a professor at a local university who encourages his pupils to question the state and challenge authority. Nida later turns him into the authorities calling him an “anti-nationalist” and “terrorist”.

There are also scenes of the authorities arresting people and burning so-called “seditious” literature and belongings.

The spine-tingling phrase said by Nida: “the force only takes people who are in need of reconditioning”, is the scariest part of episode one. It was not so long ago there was a fascist state and communist state with similar mentalities.

There is minimum jump scares from the start and scenes are dragged out with little dialogue to make it a slightly intensive viewing.

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Episode Two called “The Nightmares Will Begin”, unfortunately largely abandon’s the interesting political message and focuses more on the horror side of the show which makes it very close to falling down the hole of an average horror movie.

The start of the episode raises questions over enhanced interrogations techniques in a post-Guatanomo Bay era. The interrogators are seen beating Ali Saeed and torturing him with electric cables and hanging him with chains from the ceiling.

The end of the episode depends on stereotypical scary movie chaos with plenty of jumps scares and terrifying images of the supernatural “Ghoul” Ali Saeed tormenting the interrogators, which quickly draw to an end.

The most haunting part of episode two was not the first glimpse of the Ghoul but the murder of guard Gupta by Chaudrey, another guard. The two were fighting over who was responsible for murdering a young woman and child.

The message of Ghoul is that guilt is what ultimately tortures us and this is one of the scariest parts about the series.

The final episode, “Reveal Their Guilt, Eat Their Flesh” refers to pre-Islamic Arabian religious folklore. The Ghoul is a demonic phantom or an evil spirit that blends in with humans and in Arabic folklore is associated with consuming human flesh.

If that isn’t spooky enough, episode three is the most jump-scary and bloody of the three episodes. Episode three is even upsetting. Yes, horrors can make you cry.

Nina realises that the prisoners are all murdered in the detention centre. The piles of glasses of the dead, the bullet holes in the wall and the cremation furnaces hauntingly resemble the concentration camps of Nazi Germany which is hard hitting for viewers to watch.

The final episode is full of dark twists and turns, finally grasping the viewer's undivided attention and ends on a huge cliffhanger. Viewers will definitely be demanding the second series of Ghoul.

Ghoul tries to balance the hugely interesting political narrative with creepy horror scenes featuring Saeed and it is a shame that the characters and backstory are not explored fully. It is clear that Ghoul was originally intended to be a film which lessens its impact so hopefully, there is more to come.

If you are looking for a horror series that won’t leave you sleepless at night, Ghoul is an excellent viewing.